LOS ANGELES—Three women were charged with grand theft and embezzlement in connection with a scheme to steal hundreds of thousands in public funds intended to aid the homeless. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the charges Oct. 21 for Latoi Pledger, 45, Sareena Stevenson, 44, and Valencia Stevenson, 40, with 56 felonies, including grand theft and embezzlement, as well as a special allegation of aggravated white-collar crime with a loss of over $100,000. Two of the women worked for People Assisting the Homeless (PATH), a Los Angeles-based organization that received a contract from the LA Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) in 2016 to help house homeless Angelenos. The criminal complaint alleged that from January to September of 2017, the plaintiffs worked together to steal hundreds of thousands from PATH by submitting false referrals and assistance requests for people who were not homeless. The women allegedly manipulated the identities “through forged and …